Post-Standard -- News

Dismissed Warehouse curator named to new Public Arts Commission

Posted by civen September 24, 2007 5:35PM

The Syracuse Common Council on Monday approved its appointments to the city's new Public Arts Commission.

Appointed were three city residents: Tere Paniagua, senior editor for the Point of Contact Gallery; Matt Waltz of the Central New York Community Foundation, who is also a musician; and Astria Suparak who was told Sept. 7 that she would lose her job as director at Syracuse University's Warehouse Gallery.

The council had originally decided to hold Suparak's appointment after it learned of her dismissal, but decided Monday that Suparak's qualifications went beyond her role at the Warehouse, said Council President Bea Gonzalez.

The council approved her appointment, and the others, 7-0, with two councilors absent. The commission, which will have 11 members after Mayor Matt Driscoll makes his appointments, is charged with reviewing public art proposals and formulating a Public Arts Master Plan.


Source:
http://blog.syracuse.com/news/2007/09/dismissed_warehouse_curator_na.html

Mike Everleth

Save Astria!

Astria Suparak is a phenomenal film and art curator. I caught a couple of her exhibits at past New York Underground Film Festivals, but for the past year she’s been the Director of the Warehouse Gallery in Syracuse, NY. I was actually gearing up to write a post on her current exhibit “Come On: Desire Under the Female Gaze” and a special screening next month.

However, today I just learned that Astria is being forced out of her post. Not much reason has been given about her letting go, but apparently it seems extremely abrupt. She’ll be out of her job at the end of the month. A lot of grassroots Syracuse support to re-instate Astria has popped up, so if you want to learn more and maybe do something to help I’ll just direct you to two websites devoted to the cause: Keep Astria! and Syracuse Loses Again. Currently there’s no info on Astria’s official site, but check that out, too.

[Reposted from Bad Lit blog]

Lauren Cornell

Dear Jeffrey Hoone, Tom Walsh, Nancy Cantor, Eric Spina and Carole Brzozowski,

For the past week my inbox has been flooded with emails in regards to Astria Suparak's dismissal. All these letters have been upset and confused.

Everyone who has worked with Astria Suparak knows how sharp, dedicated and responsible she is. When I met her in the late 90s, she was a new, inspiring figure in the art world. She had -- and continues to have -- fresh, forward-thinking ideas and a deep commitment to artists and institutions. Through her well-respected touring programs, Astria brought the practice of a rock band together with that of a curator, presenting emerging film/ video artists in venues that ranged from established institutions like Yerba Buena to public high schools in Santa Fe. Her curatorial practice is underlined by progressive goals, generosity and rigor. As I understand, it has always been Astria's mission to connect diverse audiences around art and ideas.

I am sorry that Syracuse is losing Astria. In her short time there, she proved herself an asset to the Warehouse Gallery and the University. Rhizome's tenth anniversary exhibition Networked Nature traveled to Warehouse. Astria installed it there in a fantastic new form and was wonderful to work with as usual: dedicated, detail-oriented and focused on the artists. It was evident that she cared deeply about the connection to Syracuse University's student body, as she was enthusiastic about the organization of talks and interpretative materials. I spoke with my colleague Marisa Olson, Networked Nature's curator, to a group of students about the show. When I returned to New York, Emily Vey Duke forwarded me a candid letter from a student who had attended the talk and was excited about the work and learning about new media art for the first time.

I served as one of Astria's references for this position. I remember being asked to describe her and speaking about her incredible commitment to emerging forms of art. I also predicted that her risk-taking program would turn attention towards Syracuse, which all of her shows have done. I regret that the greatest press has been brought through her dismissal. Surely, if she had continued to work with you, she would have continued to produce thoughtful, provocative shows that fill a vital and much-needed space in Syracuse's cultural landscape.

Yours sincerely,

Lauren Cornell
Executive Director
Rhizome
http://www.rhizome.org

Post-Standard -- Cartoon

From the Syracuse Post-Standard, Sunday, September 23, 2007:

Double Negative Collective

September 24, 2007

To Whom It May Concern:

We are writing in response to the outrageous dismissal of Astria Suparak from her position as director at The Warehouse Gallery.

As a collective of Montreal-based moving image artists, we have been excited and engaged by the work and passion Astria brought to our city and we were pleased for her when she moved to Syracuse to share her considerable talents south of the border. She and her partner Brett Kashmere are the unique type of individuals genuinely committed to the creation and dissemination of exciting work, especially that of emerging artists and underrepresented communities.

Jeff Hoone's solo decision and apparently unknowable reasons for firing Astria functions as a violent gesture that disempowers her as an employee and disadvantages the arts community who have invested trust in this administration and rely on the Warehouse Gallery for fresh energy and invigorating contemporary art.

Double Negative consider Astria an ally in the struggle against aesthetic homogeneity and decisions made in the name of "tastefulness", or in other circles, cultural servility. It is our recommendation to the administration of the CMAC that Astria Suparak be reinstated immediately and with a full apology, if she'll have them.

Sincerely,

Double Negative Collective
Montreal, Quebec
doublenegatif@gmail.com
doublenegativecollective.blogspot.com

Members:
Christopher Becks
Lucia Fuzzuoglio
Amber Goodwyn
Julien Idrac
Steven Ladouceur
Matt Law
Karl Lemieux
Lindsay McIntyre
Eduardo Menz
Chris Payne
Mike Rollo
Daichi Saito
Ithamar Silver
Malena Szlam

Kenneth White

Dear Chancellor Cantor:

I am writing to register my alarm at the news that Astria Suparak is removed from directorship of the Warehouse Gallery by CMAC Director Jeffrey Hoone without consultation of the Syracuse community. As a proud alum of Syracuse University I have watched with awe and excitement as Suparak galvanized the creative community of Syracuse and thoroughly fulfilled your mission of Scholarship in Action. Suparak's immense and internationally-renowned success prior to her appointment at the Warehouse and during her tenure there leaves me utterly dismayed by Hoone's decision.

Adding further grievance to Suparak's dismissal is the notion that it erupted from Hoone's anxiety over address of feminist aesthetics in Suparak's current work, COME ON: desire under the female gaze. It appears so, and with your approval. This signals a much more dangerous institutional culture at Syracuse University than I ever thought possible. I hope this is not the case.

However, neither you, nor Hoone, have provided acceptable justification for the termination of Suparak. "Restructuring" and "personnel changes" is Hoone's claim, endorsed by you, and echoed by VPA Dean Carole Brzozowski. Reports of Hoone's distress over the use of "feminist" in the exhibition's title, the occurrence of Suparak's termination just prior to the opening of COME ON, and no disclosure of the Warehouse's new structure, tenders Hoone's decision as blatant censorship and personal power consolidation. I am left to imagine that you are shunning your commitment to the Syracuse community, and tolerating Hoone's insecurity, for the lucrative financial endowments promised by Hoone and his connections.

I hope you will reassure your alumni that the delusion, misogyny, and abhorrent stupidity, that appears to inform Hoone and his censorship of Suparak are not acceptable at Syracuse University, and that the Soul of Syracuse is not for sale. There is still opportunity for you to heed the wishes of your community. Please exemplify the "interactive and collaborative nature" that in your Vision Statement: Scholarship in Action you believe is our "great strength." Please re-instate Suparak to directorship of the Warehouse Gallery and cease your toleration of Hoone's abuse of power. Suparak must be allowed to continue her vital contributions to the Syracuse community.

Thank you for your time and attention. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Kenneth White
B.F.A. 2005
Syracuse University Scholar
Remembrance Scholar
VPA Scholar



Cc:
VPA Dean Carole Brzozowski
Vice-Chancellor and Provost Eric Spina
Senior Vice President Thomas Walsh
CMAC Director Jeffrey Hoone